I visited Pouakai Zoo on 29 November 2015, my first visit in around three years and first since the new owners took over in early 2014. The Zoo is largely the same as it was previously, with no major changes. It is looking very tidy however, with several spruced-up exhibits and gardens, and new signage throughout (e.g. http://www.zoochat.com/991/pouakai-zoo-aviaries-432785/). And they now have a map, on a sign (http://www.zoochat.com/991/pouakai-zoo-map-432784/) and handed out on a small piece of paper on arrival. So overall, it has improved. The exhibits have not changed significantly, although a couple of older cage exhibits have been removed, which is good. This includes the Ring-tailed Lemur cage, which wasn't a bad enclosure (although not sure about structurally) but didn't have a Lemur, so wasn't a good exhibit... The bird aviaries and main row of primate cages looked especially tidy, but the other cages (these ones: http://www.zoochat.com/991/enclosures-pouakai-zoo-284947/) looked more run down than ever, it will be good when they can all be knocked down. A new Meerkat exhibit could be a popular and relatively cheap addition. I didn't notice any new species, although there was a sign saying a new animal species was coming to one of the paddocks viewed from the bushwalk (I think this would have to be a domestic species, I suspect deer are most likely). There seemed to be only a couple of Bonnet Macaques and Spider Monkeys left, and the solitary Pig-tailed Macaque (listed on map as Crab-eating Macaque for some reason) was still there. I didn't see the Lar Gibbons, but presume (hope) they were still alive. The Capuchin group seemed very large, so I guess they are breeding well. Only saw a pair of Meerkats (scruffiest I've seen: http://www.zoochat.com/991/pouakai-zoo-meerkat-432786/; http://www.zoochat.com/991/pouakai-zoo-meerkat-432787/), and apart from the Lions and White Tigers there are no other exotic species present, the rest just domestic, pet or introduced taxa. Many of the birds seemed to be singletons, which is a shame. While the Zoo was looking tidy, it didn't seem to have become any more successful than under the previous owners. The carpark had only one or two other cars in it, despite being a sunny Sunday morning. Hopefully they have a good summer season up there with decent visitor numbers, but I'm not sure that will be the case. I'm don't know what their future plans are, but I hope the stated new arrivals boost visitors, and encourage further acquisitions. They have joined the regional zoo association (ZAA), so hopefully that opens some useful doors for new animals.
Thanks for the review and I'd be intrigued as to how many New Zealand zoos there are and which ones you've visited. ZooChatter Chlidonias once provided a list of approximately 45 zoos within the nation and it would be great if someone could type up their top ten list or something to that effect.
According to Chlidonias's NZ Zoo List (http://www.zoochat.com/17/new-zealand-zoo-list-12405/) there are actually something like 88 zoos in NZ, although many are very small collections of domestic/pet species (birds mostly) or very very specialised places with just one or two species (usually native). I have been to ~30 NZ collections, mostly in the North Island, and most of the larger collections, including all but a couple of collections with exotic mammals.
